Why aren't my chickens laying?

[wicked_elect]

Obtained my six hens Saturday, but have yet to get any eggs. Previous owner says they were laying fine (3-4 eggs per bird/week on average). They are all under a year old. Someone said they may need time to acclimate to the new environment, but how long should that take????????

 

[Katy]

The move probably upset them....doesn't take much to upset them sometimes. It could be days or even weeks before they settle in and start laying again.

 

[wicked_elect]

Thanks....I never thought it would take that long.. Thought maybe I done something wrong. Does putting a "fake" egg in the nest boxes really work when they are laying?

 

[SunsetChickens]

I think the fake egg does help teach them where to lay.

Yep, a break like that is totally normal for chickens who have just been moved. (It's probably the most dramatic thing that's ever happened to those chickens!)

 

[Dawn419]

Hi and Welcome to BYC!

We used golf balls as fake eggs to teach our girls where they were supposed to lay. The Silkies prefer to try and hatch them out, though.

And I agree with the other posters, it can take a bit after a move, for the girls to start laying again!

Dawn

 

[tanekahachicken]

Hi,
I'm a new egg as well and still waiting for my chickens to lay. I'm trying the fake egg trick too, but so far no luck. We have 5 chickens and my boys are rushing off to the coop in the mornings to check for eggs. We are dying to see what colour they are too.

 

[edster951]

Quote:
Hi, I'm in Southand..

My chooks haven't laid for about 4 weeks, I'm getting about 1 egg every 2-3 days from 34 chooks.

They have gone through molting and re feathered. Some are 22-23 weeks old.

costing me a fortune in feed and no eggs to sell to help towards it.

 

[hdchic]

I got mine on Sunday, some are 3 years old, some are 17 months. I was told the same as you. So I too, am playing the waiting game. Friend of mine said it could be weeks....*sigh*

 

[NS2A]

Try to emulate exactly what they had before.

For example, if they had lights on during certain hours, make sure you do that also.

 

[tvtaber]

We got some from our neighbor who were laying every day and they took a full month off before laying for us. I just put them in (after getting them used to the existing birds) with our other hens and they eventually adjusted.

Fake eggs or golf balls help them know where to lay but cannot induce them to lay; I don't think they have that much control over the function.